amusement parks

Corrosion ate away at beam for 18 years

(Newser) -
The deadly accident at the Ohio State Fair last month was caused by "excessive corrosion" over the 18 years the Fireball ride had been in operation, according to ride maker KMG. Investigators in Columbus found that corrosion "on the interior of the gondola support beam dangerously reduced the...
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Victims were hurled from Fire Ball

(Newser) -
A man was killed and at least seven other people were injured in a horrific ride malfunction on the opening day of the Ohio State Fair. Officials say the 18-year-old man was killed after being thrown in the air from the Fire Ball ride Wednesday evening and landing around 50...
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Police agree there was no malfunction

(Newser) -
After a 14-year-old fell some 25 feet from a gondola ride and onto the crowd below at Six Flags Great Escape in New York on Saturday, park officials said they hadn't uncovered any malfunction that would have precipitated her fall. Now police are saying much the same. Though the...
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Incident happened Saturday night on the 'Sky Ride'

(Newser) -
A teenager fell from a stopped gondola ride at an upstate New York amusement park Saturday night, tumbling into a crowd of park guests and employees gathered below in an effort to catch the victim before she hit the ground. The Warren County Sheriff's Office said late Saturday the...
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Schlitterbahn water park's 168-foot Verruckt slide to be taken down

(Newser) -
The 10-year-old son of a Kansas lawmaker died on the world's tallest water slide this summer, and that ride is now closed for good. Caleb Schwab, the son of state Rep. Scott Schwab, suffered a "fatal neck injury" Aug. 7 on the 168-foot Verruckt slide at the Schlitterbahn...
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Victims were thrown from, trapped by ride at Australian park

(Newser) -
Police in Queensland, Australia, are investigating a horrific accident that left four people dead on a ride at a popular Gold Coast theme park. Two men and two women in their 30s and 40s died on the Thunder River Rapids ride at the Dreamworld park on Tuesday, with two people...
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The young boy was flown to a local hospital with unknown injuries

(Newser) -
A young boy was hospitalized with unknown injuries after falling off an 80-year-old wooden roller coaster Thursday at Pennsylvania's Idlewild & Soak Zone, NBC News reports. The boy hasn't been identified, but he may have been around 3 years old. According to KDKA , the boy was riding the...
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Disney's Shanghai park is its first in mainland China

(Newser) -
Walt Disney Co. opened its Shanghai theme park Thursday, its first in mainland China, with a Chinese children's choir, Sleeping Beauty and other Disney characters, and speeches by Communist Party leaders. Vice Premier Wang Yang joined Disney CEO Bob Iger in cutting a red ribbon as the park opened,...
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Disney dominates, but Universal cracks top 5

(Newser) -
A new list of the world's most popular amusement parks shows just how pervasive the Disney brand is. Disney World's Magic Kingdom in Florida tops the AECOM Index with 20.5 million visitors in 2015, and the brand dominates the top 10. It was a good year for...
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Scary moment was recorded

(Newser) -
A dad's heartstopping moment was caught on video last week: Delbert Latham was filming himself and his son, Kaysen, riding a roller coaster at the Wonderland amusement park in Zita, Texas, when the seatbelt malfunctioned and the little boy started to slip to the floor of their ride car....
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Worker died in apparent accident

(Newser) -
A dead body—a real one, not one created for the attraction—was found inside the haunted mansion ride at Disneyland Paris Saturday morning. The 45-year-old park employee is believed to have been electrocuted while fixing a light fixture inside the ride, which is called Phantom Manor at the Paris...
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Not cool, bird

(Newser) -
Roller-coaster riders at one of Beijing's major amusement parks were left hanging upside down for almost 20 minutes when a bird stood on one of the ride's safety sensors. The Happy Valley Amusement Park said it took 18 minutes to bring the 26 riders to safety via a...
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You'll have to pass a metal detector to enter the happiest place on Earth

(Newser) -
With the Department of Homeland Security publicly worrying about potential attacks on crowded places, the three major theme parks in Orlando—Disney World, SeaWorld, and Universal Orlando—added metal detectors on Thursday, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The security devices are also being installed at Disneyland and Universal Studios in Los...
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Kevin Dumont couldn't save park from being auctioned

(Newser) -
The owner of a New Hampshire water park who chained himself to a slide tower 17 days ago to try to prevent the park's auction has ended his quest because of failing health and the lack of a financial savior. Kevin Dumont climbed the slide at Liquid Planet on...
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China is also getting a new 'Hunger Games' attraction

(Newser) -
Hunger Games fans in the US and China may get to find out for themselves if the odds are forever in their favor. Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. confirmed Monday that the blockbuster movie franchise has been licensed for development in a theme park in Atlanta and an indoor entertainment center...
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July death was just made public this week

(Newser) -
Records show that a woman died after riding Walt Disney World's Space Mountain this past summer. Pamela Lynn Haynes' death was included in a quarterly report theme parks are required to submit to the state. The report was made public this week. The Orlando Sentinel reports that 55-year-old Pamela...
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Dismaland fixtures are slated for French camp

(Newser) -
The remains of a macabre theme park in England are about to find a new home—in a dismal camp where war refugees are barely scraping out an existence. NPR reports that British street artist Banksy, who created "Dismaland" in the town of Weston-super-Mare, England, announced its fate on...
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Brace yourself for the Valravn Birdseye

(Newser) -
Thrillseekers should pencil this one onto their 2016 calendar: The Valravn Birdseye is slated to open in May at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, and those who survive the 3,415-foot roller coaster will be able to brag that they've experienced a ride that quashed 10 world...
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(Newser) -
Cinderella's carriage has crashed, she and the horses are dead, and the paparazzi are hovering over their bodies, snapping away. That's just one attraction in Dismaland , the new Banksy art show in the English resort town of Weston-super-Mare, the Guardian reports. Nearly 60 artists built what Banksy calls...
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Brooks Barnes finds 'quirky surprises' from Hong Kong to Paris

(Newser) -
Brooks Barnes once thought only the "zip-a-dee-doo-deranged" made an effort to visit all 13 Disney amusement parks around the globe. Hired to report on Disney in 2007, however, he began visiting several of the parks on business. Soon, a burning curiosity made him visit the full set as only...
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